10 Big Ten players to watch in NBA draft

Carlos Osorio / AP

Jackson has reportedly performed so impressively in workouts that teams outside the top four are working on ways to move up to select him. Lanky with a 7-5 wing span, Jackson fits the NBA prototype for athletic big men with his vast array of skills. As a freshman for the Spartans, he shot nearly 40 percent on 3-pointers and averaged 10.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and three blocks in just 22 minutes per game.

Bridges has shown agility, strength and explosiveness that NBA teams favor. He needs to improve his ballhandling, and questions persist about what position he’ll play. NBAdraft.net projects him at No. 10 after a solid sophomore season in which he averaged 17 points and seven rebounds.

Many of the high-profile Big Ten players who considered jumping early to the NBA — including Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ, Iowa’s Tyler Cook, Purdue’s Carsen Edwards and Nebraska’s James Palmer Jr. — opted to return to school. But the draft will have some familiar names to Big Ten fans, possibly in the first three picks. Here are 10 Big Ten players to watch Thursday.